1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new, improved cable and wire cutters. More particularly, it concerns cable and wire cutters of unique design that permit the cutting to be performed more easily and quietly than with prior known types of such cutters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The construction of prior art cable and wire cutters has depended upon the positioning of two cutting members adjacent a solid pin upon which such members pivot. The diameter of the pivot pin must be sufficiently large to carry the load caused by the shearing action of the cutting members. The result is that the work piece being cut is located a significant distance from the pivot point and this, in turn, requires long handles or force multipliers to develop the force in the cutting members necessary to cut the work piece. Thus, the mechanical advantage of a simple cutter is the distance from the pivot point to the point of applied force, roughly the handle length, divided by the length from the center of the work piece to the center of the pivot, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,338. As the distance from the center of the work piece to the center of the pivot point increases, both the force required to make the cut and the load on the pivot increase.
In order to reduce the length of handles required to develop the force necessary to cut cables and wires, so-called compound cutters comprising force multipliers, e.g., gear or cam systems have been developed as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,378,636, 4,677,748, 5,184,404 & 5,689,888.
The present invention has provided an improvement in the art of construction of cable and wire cutters by the discovery of a new design that locates the cutting surfaces extremely close to their pivot point.